Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Mark 1:35, NKJV

In our household growing up, my siblings and I had a nightly habit of giving our parents a goodnight hug and kiss.  As we grew older and learned to put ourselves to bed, those goodnight greetings continued to be part of our bedtime routines.  Before my lights went out, I typically would find my parents in the office downstairs as they were catching up on mail, paying bills, or even taking care of work responsibilities while on-call.  But every now and then, when my bedtime would coincide with theirs, I'd walk over to my parents' room and find my dad kneeling by his bedside in prayer.  To this day, that mental image of my father praying comes to mind every time I kneel beside my own bed.  What he modeled in his prayer life, even unconsciously, is something that still impacts my own.

Not all of us have a family member or friend whose prayer habits have passed on a pattern for us to follow.  But thankfully, we all can look to Jesus and let Him "teach us to pray" (Lk. 11:1).  So what best practices does our Savior model for us in Mark 1:35?

Jesus was UNHURRIED in prayer  |  Quiet time with the Father was something Jesus sought "in the morning...a long while before day.”  Some of us may not be "morning people" per se, let alone wee-hours-of-the-morning people, and that's ok.  I think the larger principle is not just the time of day Jesus prayed but the amount of time He gave Himself for prayer.  It was ample time and unhurried time, not simply because it was morning, but because it was a long while before other things could vie for His energy.  Whatever our personal rhythms and responsibilities, we can follow Jesus' example by giving ourselves ample time in prayer so the daily grind doesn't rush our communion with God.  Maybe instead of viewing prayer as something to squeeze into our calendars, let's make our days and calendars conform to our set times of prayer -- whether morning or evening or sometime in between.

Jesus was UNDISTRACTED in prayer  |  Mark tells us Jesus found a “solitary place” for prayer.  Other gospel writers describe Jesus as withdrawing "to the wilderness" (Lk. 5:16).  While I'm a huge fan of connecting with God out in nature, doing so is not always readily available.  The big principle we can glean here is that Jesus preferred places He could be alone with God because He wanted an environment that was free of distraction.  Practically speaking, this may not always be readily available depending on our living situations.  But as much as possible, we can be proactive to manipulate our surroundings and limit the external stimuli around us so we can focus on connecting with God without unnecessary distraction

Jesus was UNPLUGGED in prayer  |  In order to secure that solitary place, Jesus "went out and departed."  It required some effort to remove Himself from His previous surroundings and unplug in a sense.  Sure, this is an extension of the previous point, but it highlights the reality that we sometimes need to make an extra effort to become free from distraction.

Like Jesus, we may need to unplug from whatever inhibits our communion with God.

It may be as basic as getting up out of bed.  It may be going out to a different room that doesn't have the incessant chatter of the TV or the silent nagging of house mess that needs tidying.  There have been seasons when I used my computer for journaling prayers or my phone's Bible app for comparing Bible versions.  But I have since decided to unplug from my devices in my quiet time because they too easily cause my mind to drift toward to-do's, emails, or communications with others besides God.  Whatever it is for you, being fully alone with God will always be worth the effort of unplugging.

Which of these three prayer hacks do you sense God inviting you to lean into this week?  As we keep our eyes on Jesus as the model Pray-er, it's my hope that we  will know the joy of an ever-deepening experience of God's presence in prayer.